Montclair’s computer system was not hacked, but the folder containing school tests that were later found on a public website was not properly protected, according to the township manager.

In a memo sent to the council last week, Township Manager Marc Dashield reported “no intrusions” to the computer server shared by the township and board of education.

However, improper settings on the folder containing the controversial tests allowed “anyone to be able to access the file from the internet,” according to Montclair’s director of information technology.

The finding is the latest twist in the educational drama playing out in Montclair. In October, copies of some quarterly tests — the cornerstone of reforms introduced by Superintendent Penny MacCormack — were found on a public website. The disclosure forced MacCormack to suspend their use.

The Board of Education launched an investigation Nov. 1 to determine how the tests became public. Last month, the board sought permission from the municipal council to allow a forensic review of the shared server. The council denied the request.

Dashield said his memo was in response to a subsequent request from Councilman Sean Spiller about the town’s computer security. It was not related to the board of education’s investigation.

“There was an inquiry from the council, asking a question about the security of our network and whether it was secure, and we’ve answered the inquiry,” Dashield said.

Montclair director of information technology Joseph Fagliarone determined the system was not breached, Dashield said.

“No hacking or successful intrusion into our network from the point of entry ‘firewall’ was found,” according to the memo.

The memo notes Fagliarone also reviewed the Board of Education's server to determine if "this device could be considered a point of failure." While he determined the "server itself was secure," Fagliarone was quoted in the memo noting the folder containing the tests "had the wronge permissions."

Board of Education president Robin Kulwin expressed surprise that town officials reviewed the board's side of the shared system.

"That’s the very thing we were told that we couldn’t do," she said. "Here's the municipal side seeing things on ours that they are not supposed to. There’s an expectation of confidentiality that goes both ways."

Kulwin said the IT review doesn't help the investigation because the board never thought the system was hacked.

“Hacking is not my word,” she said. “It was an unauthorized release.”

The investigation into the public disclosure of the tests landed in court last month, when an Essex County Superior Court judge temporarily quashed several subpoenas issued by the board that sought the identity of an anonymous critic, known as Assessmentgate. After the ruling, the board and the anonymous critic reached an agreement and the suit was dropped.